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The moment has finally come where Twitter users can proclaim their dissatisfaction with the 140 character limit in more detail, since Twitter has formally affirmed that they have extended the character limit to 280 per Tweet!

The social networking platform, which was introduced in 2006, grew quickly to become one of the most celebrated social media platforms globally, however recent declines in growth prompted the social media giant to make some improvements. Twitter distinguishes itself from other social media networks with its ‘microblogging’ feature, which is greatly unique to comparable social media sites like Facebook and Google Plus. Twitter has just over 330 million users that send approximately 6,000 Tweets per second.

Despite the 140 character limit that keenly defined the social networking site, Twitter reported on November 7 that they want every individual around the world to ‘easily’ express themselves on Twitter. After performing a variety of tests over the past few months, Twitter decided that they wanted to widen the character limit, but only where necessary. Countries like South Korea, Japan, and China will remain at the 140 character limit, simply because there’s no need for an increase, as sending messages in these languages can be represented in a short amount of characters. Languages like English conversely, encounter jammed Tweets with 9% of English Tweets hitting the preceding 140 character limit.

So, why the change?

After administering an assortment of tests to targeted users, Twitter obtained valuable results and believed the 240 character limit would be beneficial for many users. Considering that 9% of English users were hitting the 140 character mark, many would have to spend time modifying their Tweets to make sure that they didn’t have to send several messages. Further, users would now have the ability to easily fit their ideas into a single Tweet, so they could say what was on their mind and send them faster than before.

The question is, what influence will this have for digital marketers and SEO providers? Here are a few alterations that they can expect to see.

Increased engagement

Since Twitter increased the character limit, users have encountered a higher level of responses which produced more followers. Obviously, this has been a step in the right direction, as there has been a reported higher satisfaction rate from content producers together with more Likes, Retweets, and Mentions.

Improved user experience for followers.

The widened character limit means that users will have smaller threads of conversations, given that they can fit more material into a single message. Users with long threads of conversations described that it can often times be challenging to follow and respond to. Moreover, brands are loving the longer Tweets as it enables them to fit more detailed information into a single Tweet which leads to higher engagement rates.

Increases customer communication

With the rise of companies using social media as a channel to resolve customer service matters, customers can now convey a problem in more detail on Twitter which is worthwhile for both the customer and the business, as communication is noticeably enriched. Prior to this change, many users would have chosen other social media sites like Facebook to report customer service issues because the character limit was too restraining.

More Creativity

Longer Tweets means that companies can heighten the creativity of their communication with their target audience through storytelling, Q&A’s, and more engaging Twitter Chats. Companies would commonly have to use other social media sites if they needed to get creative, however brands can now effectively use longer text to their advantage by connecting with their audience on a more personal level.

Even though some users have suggested that the increase in character limit by Twitter makes them more similar to other social media sites, the vast majority of users appear to be very happy with their latest update. Nothing is carved in stone in social media, as making changes to stay on top of changing user behaviour is essential for survival. For the time being though, both users and marketing specialists seem to have emerged the winner!

If you need any assistance about how your company can leverage the increased character limit to your advantage on Twitter, just speak to Internet Marketing Experts Bathurst by calling 1300 595 013, or alternatively visit their website for additional information: http://www.internetmarketingexpertsbathurst.com.au

In today’s ever-changing online environment, it’s essential that businesses Google’s best practices to ensure they stay competitive in their relevant online markets. With Google being the most dominant and influential company online, it’s key for them to keep abreast of all the threats and opportunities that the internet produces. As a result, Google releases a variety of updates yearly: new features, bug fixes, and the majority relating to the very secretive Google search ranking algorithm.

What is essential though, is that all online businesses that use Google-related services (practically every online provider), understand extensive changes that may alter their SEO, performance, and ultimately their bottom-line. The internet is in a continuous state of change, so online companies have to be versatile and adjust to new Google updates as quickly as possible to make sure that they aren’t negatively influenced by these new releases.

The largest Google update that has recently impacted online firms pertains to Google Chrome v62, which was released in October of this year. The Google Chrome web browser is used by virtually half of all online users, so it’s highly important that online enterprises incorporate the appropriate changes as quickly as possible if they aspire to avoid any harmful outcomes.

What has changed in Google Chrome v62?

In the Google Chrome v62 update, Google has reshaped the way in which it marks non-secured (HTTP) pages. If a non-secured (HTTP) page stores passwords and bank card information (which is housed in a plain text file), they are susceptible to phishing sites that can potentially steal this information from consumers that falsely believe they are supplying their personal information to a genuine company. The Google Chrome browser will begin marking any text input field and web address bar as ‘NOT SECURE’ for HTTP pages.

This change will clearly have an effect on millions of websites across the globe. Before the change, many non-secured websites weren’t affected by phishing attacks simply because they didn’t have a public-facing member login, and chose PayPal or other offsite payment processors to accept online payments. Now, however, all websites will need to start securing their web pages given that users will become hesitant of falling victim to malevolent attacks if they enter personal information into fields marked boldly as ‘NOT SECURE’.

How to make web pages secure?

For online providers that wish to secure their previously non-secured (HTTP) web pages, they must encrypt the information being exchanged between their clients and their web server by integrating an SSL certificate. Google are distinctly pushing for a more secure internet than ever before, and they’ve opted for SSL encryption as a vehicle to do this. For website owners who want to enable HTTPS on their web servers, here is a useful guide: https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/security/encrypt-in-transit/enable-https?hl=en. The following link is an additional guide on how you can avoid the ‘NOT SECURE’ warning in Google Chrome which is targeted at web developers: https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2016/10/avoid-not-secure-warn.

What this means for online businesses?

The recent Google update indicates that HTTPS and SSL encryption will become the norm across all web pages online. Eventually, each online firm will have to secure their web pages using SSL encryption whether they like it or not, or users will simply select a competitor that does.

What this also suggests is that not all websites using SSL encryption should be trusted, and there will be a significant increase in phishing sites using HTTPS also. Phishing sites can simply use fabricated SSL certificates to bypass the ‘NOT SECURE’ warning by Google Chrome and make their websites appear legitimate. This will make the differentiation between phishing sites and real websites more challenging than ever. Online firms that use an Extended Validation Certificate (EV SSL) will be the most trusted websites on the internet since it will be exceedingly difficult for phishing sites to imitate the authenticity that EV SSL provides.

Making all websites use SSL certificates to prove their authenticity will only increase the amount of phishing sites that do the same. At the end of the day, however, SSL encryption will gradually become required, so if you need any help in securing your website with SSL encryption, get in touch with the digital specialists at Internet Marketing Experts Bathurst by calling 1300 595 013, or visit their website for more information: http://www.internetmarketingexpertsbathurst.com.au